APME FX examined the performance of the three major US indices (S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq 100) against their European counterparts (Euro Stoxx 50, DAX, FTSE 100) — the established benchmarks for blue-chip stocks on each side of the Atlantic. The analysts of APME FX compared their returns across three time horizons: 1, 3, and 5 years.

United states of America

S&P 500

The S&P 500 (Standard & Poor's 500 Index) is a market-capitalization-weighted index tracking the performance of 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States. It covers roughly 80% of the total US market value, serving as a primary, broad-based benchmark for overall US stock market performance.

The ten largest companies on the S&P 500 index account for approximately 38% of the market capitalization of the index and the 50 largest components account for 60% of the index. As of January 2026, the 10 largest components are, in order of highest to lowest weighting: Nvidia (7.17%), Alphabet (6.39%), Apple (5.86%), Microsoft (5.33%), Amazon (3.98%), Broadcom (2.51%), Meta Platforms (2.49%), Tesla (2.31%), Berkshire Hathaway (1.68%), and Lilly (Eli) (1.55%).

As of May 1st 2026 S&P 500 index reached 7,230.12 points which represented 29.01% year-on-year gain. During the last three years the index increased by 73.30%, which is quite almost the same gain as during the last five-year period. Development of the index between 2021 and 2023 was negatively influenced by the covid crisis, specifically the year 2022 was the year of general decay of worldwide stock markets. Another decrease of the index was recorded right after Donald Trump stepped on his second presidential mandate, but it recovered in the following months with a slight drop in the frost quarter of 2026 after the USA got involved into the military attack on Iran.

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a price-weighted index of 30 prominent, blue-chip U.S. companies across various industries, excluding transportation and utilities. It acts as a key indicator of the U.S. economy and is frequently updated to reflect the market, with components chosen by a committee that includes three representatives from S&P Dow Jones Indices and two representatives from the Wall Street Journal.

The investment bank Goldman Sachs has currently the biggest weight within the index (11.10%) followed by Caterpillar (9.46%), Microsoft (4.93%), Amgen (4.70%) and Home Depot (4.41%). The smallest weight in the index is represented with the communication services company Verizon (0.67%).

Dow Jones Industrial Average reached (as of May 1st 2026) the level of 49,499-27 points. During the last 12 months it gained 21.46%. The 3-year period was a bit more generous with 51.09% increase, while the index gained only 44.17% since the beginning of May 2021. The development of the index was (similarly to S&P 500) harmed by the covid pandemics, so since September 2022 the growing trend has been recorded.

Nasdaq-100

Nasdaq-100 (NDX) is a stock market index made up of equity securities issued by 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. It is a modified capitalization-weighted index. The stocks' weights in the index are based on their market capitalizations, with certain rules capping the influence of the largest components. It is limited to companies from a single exchange, and it does not have any financial companies.

The technology company Nvidia has the biggest weight within the index (12.88%), followed by Apple (10.98%). These are the only two companies with a two-digit weight within the index. Microsoft is the number three (8.22%), followed by Amazon (7.71%) and Alphabet (Class A, 6.44%). The lowest weight within the index is represented by CoStar Group with 0.04%.

Nasdaq-100 has reached (as of May 1st) the level of 27,710.36 points. That means a year-on-year increase by 38.78%. The index recorded a solid increase during last three years – nearly 110%. The last five-year period was a bit weaker with the 101.99% increase. The evolution of this index was similar to the previous ones.

Europe

Euro Stoxx 50

The EURO STOXX 50 index represents the 50 largest and most liquid "blue-chip" companies from 8 eurozone countries (Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain). It is dominated by the technology, industrial goods, financials and luxury goods sectors, with companies such as ASML, LVMH, TotalEnergies, SAP and Siemens having the highest weighting. The composition is revised annually in September.

The Dutch technology company ASML Holding has the biggest weight within the index (8.47%), followed by the French LVMH Moet Hennessy (7.18%) and another French Total Energies (4.27%). The German real estate company Vonovia represents the lowest weighted company within the index (0.42%).

Index Euro Stoxx 50 reaches currently (as of May 1st) the level of 5881.51 points. It increased by more than 11% on the year-on-year basis. During last three years it gained more than 35%, and 45.80% since the beginning of the May 2021. This index recorded only a relatively soft decrease during the covid pandemics.

DAX

The DAX (Deutscher Aktienindex) is composed of the 40 largest and most liquid German companies (blue-chip stocks) listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange's Prime Standard segment. It represents the performance of top sectors, with major components including SAP, Siemens, Allianz, Airbus, and Deutsche Telekom, weighted by market capitalization.

There are four companies among the top 5 most weighted companies of the index. The technology company SAP has the biggest weight (14%), followed by Siemens (10.7%), Allianz (8.4%), Deutsche Telekom (7.5%) and Airbus (6.1%).

The DAX index reached (as of 30th April) 24,292.38 points which means only 4.06% increase on a year-on-year basis. During the last three years the index gained nearly 53%, and 57.75% during the last five years. Even the DAX index experienced the similar evolution during the covid crisis as the previous ones.

FTSE 100

The FTSE 100 index comprises the 100 largest, most liquid UK-listed companies by full market value, representing about 81% of the total UK stock market. Key sectors include Financials, Energy, Health Technology, and Consumer Staples. Major constituents include HSBC, AstraZeneca, Shell, Unilever, and Rio Tinto.

The biggest weight belongs to the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (8.61%), followed by the bank HSBC (8.39%) and oil company Shell (6.6%). The smallest ones belong to JD Sports Fashion (0.09%), Airtel Africa and Hikma Pharmaceuticals (both 0.1%).

FTSE 100 has gained nearly 22% since the previous year. In the three-year period the index rose by 39%, and during the last five years the FTSE gained nearly 48%. Unlike other main European indices, the FTSE recovered quickly from the slide in 2022, and from the five-year period point of view the decline induced by the covid crisis is comparable to the one from the beginning of 2026 (induced by the US attack on Iran).

Table: Comparison of percentage change of main stock market indices in the USA and Europe

Source: Own calculations based on the data of stock indices acquired from Financial Times or Google

Does the winner take it all?

When we compare the gains of particular indices, the „winner“ is the Nasdaq 100 index with highest relative increase in all analysed periods of time. Also, the second best US stock market index (S&P 500) outperformed all the European indices in all analysed periods. From the European perspective the biggest performer in the very short time was the FTSE 100 index. When it comes to the middle-term horizon (3 and 5 years), DAX was the best option.

The results are probably not surprising, and in line with the expectations. On the other hand, the US stocks may be characterized as a bit mor risky than the European ones. But it is just a hypothesis. At the end of the day the diversification is always the answer for minimizing the investment risks, and this is not the exemption.

Prepared by Peter Svoreň, CEO of Apme FX Trading Europe Ltd.

About Apme FX Trading Europe Ltd.

APME FX TRADING EUROPE LTD. is a fully licensed and regulated brokerage company operating under the supervision of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec).APME FX TRADING EUROPE LTD is regulated and supervised by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission with CIF Licence number 335/17 with a registered address Lophitis Business Center, Office 404, 4th Floor, 28 October Ave 249, Limassol 3035, Cyprus.

References (in order of usage):

https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/indices/equity/sp-500/#overview

https://www.hsbc.co.uk/investments/what-is-the-sp-500/#:~:text=It%20tracks%20the%20share%20prices%20of%20500,the%20S&P%20500%20and%20diversify%20your%20portfolio.

https://markets.ft.com/data/indices/tearsheet/summary?s=INX:IOM

https://markets.ft.com/data/indices/tearsheet/summary?s=DJI:DJI

https://www.slickcharts.com/nasdaq100

https://www.stoxx.com/document/Bookmarks/CurrentComponents/SX5GT.pdf

https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/XETR-DAX/components/

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/indices/ftse-100/constituents/table

https://markets.ft.com/data/indices/tearsheet/charts?s=FTSE:FSI